Living Together on Uncommon Ground: Respect

1 Corinthians 12:1-26, NRSVue

1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be ignorant. 2 You know that when you were gentiles you were enticed and led astray to idols that could not speak. 3 Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says “Let Jesus be cursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit. 4 Now there are varieties of gifts but the same Spirit, 5 and there are varieties of services but the same Lord, 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of powerful deeds, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.

12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

14 Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15 If the foot would say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear would say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many members yet one body. 21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22 On the contrary, the members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and those members of the body that we think less honorable we clothe with greater honor, and our less respectable members are treated with greater respect, 24 whereas our more respectable members do not need this. But God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior member, 25 that there may be no dissension within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another. 26 If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it.

Intro

This week we continue our Do Unto Others sermon series. Over the past sever weeks, we have explored what it means to live in the purple space where we see the value in one another and learn to live together as we “cultivate kindness, compassion, humility, respect, and love for one another and for the good of all the world, no matter what.” We began with exploring the Golden Rule as we named our need to choose kindness for ourselves and for others. Next, we explore compassion as we discussed our need to have compassion for ourselves, and for one another. Last week, we named our need to live in Christian humility which binds us together in complete surrender to Jesus Christ as we share God’s love with the world. This week, we continue our journey together as we explore Respect.

For just a moment, I want you to close your eyes. As you close your eyes, picture a world where everybody is worried about themselves. Think of a world where they need to elevate themselves in order to succeed. Picture a world where some people think their skills and knowledge are better than someone else’s. Picture a world where hierarchy rules the day. The higher up the social ladder you are, the better off you are. You have to do whatever it takes to come out on top. Then imagine that you come together in a group. If everybody thinks they need to come out on top, I imagine that lot of conflict will come out. Who’s skills will be most needed? What will the group do to get somewhere? More conflict will arise and some people will be pushed out? If someone does something wrong, the people start suing each other in court because…well they can.

Does this sound familiar? While it sounds like the world around us, this story is about the church at Corinth. Paul writes this letter to a church that is deeply divided. There is division between the rich and poor. People are trying to use the pastor that baptized them as a way of claiming status. They are trying to create a hierarchy of spiritual gifts where some are ranked as “better” or “higher” than others. They are turning the church into a place of competition and conflict. This makes sense when you begin to realize the around the time of Paul visited Corinth there was a sports event much like the Olympics happening during Paul’s visit. The church takes on this heretical structure, and competitive nature as the world around them is consumed by it.

Furthermore, the Greek and Roman culture that surrounded the church at Corinth was deeply embedded in the symbols of power such as giant statues around the public water supply as a reminder that this life giving source is only possible because of Caesar, or some other powerful member of society. There was a clear hierarchy, with some people who were more powerful and “better” than others. The prevailing thought in Paul’s day was that hierarchy is a part of that natural order of the world and it was required in order for society to function. Thus, the church was drawing on the world around it to order its life and arrange its members.

For this very reason, Paul writes to the Corinthians and shows them the ways in which the church stands in opposition to the ways of the world. From it’s foundational structure, Paul writes to share the good news that the church is different then that of the world. Paul highlights the differing gifts that are given, but he notes that they are all given by the same Spirit. He reminds the church that these Spirit given gifts are not something that we have ownership over. And it is this same Spirit that enables us to use these gifts for the building up of the church. In fact, for Paul the Holy Spirit disrupts that natural framework the Greeks and Romans cling to and sets up an entirely new way of being.

For Paul reminds us that it isn’t just our gifts that are necessary, but we, like limbs of the body are necessary for the body of Christ. Just as a body is made up of different parts, so is the body of Christ. Likewise, we can’t all be a single part of the body. The church cannot be the church without each and every one of us.

But, if we are honest with ourselves, we too are like the Corinthians. We let the world leak into our lives. Sometimes, we want to have a hierarchy in our congregations. We want to judge and rank our spiritual gifts. And sometimes, we find it difficult to coexist with those who are different than we are. Whether it is political or theological views, styles of worship, or ways in which the church should function, we all have our differences. Yet when we live in the ways of the world, we tend to have a lack of respect for others.

When we live without respect, we live in such a way that we do not see the value in those who are different than we are. We live into naming our differences. It isn’t just our political or theological differences that we live into. We live into the divides along denomination lines, genders, races, and so much more. Yet in the body of Christ we are all one. “For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. “ In our baptism, we are incorporated into God’s mighty acts of salvation, given new birth, and a new identity that is not formed by dividing lines but in commonality…we all belong to Christ. In this, all divisions fall away. This is why Paul says there is no Jew or Greek, no male or female. It isn’t that we lose our selves, but it means that our differences no longer matter.

If we do not allow the Spirit to work within us, we will not be able to live into this new view on life. For respect enables us to set aside our differences and embrace all of God’s children. Sometimes, we believe that if we respect someone, it is because they believe like we do. But respect is deeper than agreement or uniformity, in fact, true respect has less to do with our agreement on a particular topic and more to do with give recognition to someone, to acknowledge them. Respect comes from the Latin word respectus. One definition of this root word is “the act of looking at one often, to consider, to observe.” Just like we talked about bearing one another in love last week, we are called to show respect to one another by offering space where we care for one another even amidst our differences.

Our call respect the other is not just on an individual level but is equally true between denominations as well. In a sermon, Rev. Adam Hamilton talked about attending a rally with a Pentecostal Pastor and a Southern Baptist Pastor. He acknowledged that there was certainly a lot of disagreement between them, but by choosing to focus on what they have in common, Jesus Christ, they were able to work together. I love the way that Adam Hamilton frames this experience up from God’s perspective. He said, “I think that’s how God looks at churches. The Pentecostal passion, the sacramental devotion of the Catholics, the emphasis on memorizing Scripture and winning souls of the Baptists, the passion around faith and good works of the Methodists. I could go on—I think God says, I love them and these siblings need each other. They are all my children.” Each denomination has its gifts, and all are necessary for the building up of the body of Christ.

So how do we begin to see each other with respect? It begins by sitting down and getting to know each other. So often, when we engage with others, we interpret their stories through the lens of our own experiences and our story. It’s easy to judge somebody when I project my life and my story onto theirs. It is easy to talk about how bad someone or a denomination is when I take my worst experience of that person or denomination and view them through that experience. Our call is to bear with someone in love by holding one another in respect and approaching conversations with curiosity. In doing this, we begin to open up a whole new world of understanding. If we listen, are curious, and ask questions, we begin to learn someone else’ perspective. This can transform any situation.

In our district, clergy have been trained in something called a 3 practice circle. In this, we commit to three things: genuine curiosity, staying in the room with difference, and no comparing one’s best with another’s worst. In this practice there is a framing or guiding question. Individuals have the opportunity to answer the question in 2 minutes. Others in the circle may ask questions framed up as “I’d be curious to know.” This practice fosters an atmosphere of respect where we can hear one another and dive deeper as we bear with one another in love. It is not a debate. It is not meant to convince someone. Instead, it offers a safe space of love and respect. In essence, it is embodying the body of Christ to the world.

You see, respect enables us to value others’ perspectives. It allows us to care about someone. It allows us to live as the messy, crazy family that we are. For in treating one another with respect, we begin to recognize the value in one another. The more that we live in this space suddenly differences begin to dissolve and instead we recognize our common humanity and our common goal to follow after Jesus. We may be different. We may have different beliefs and views. But in the purple space we recognize one Lord, one faith, one Baptism. We acknowledge the Holy Spirit’s work in each of our lives and we begin to understand and value each other. The respect we hold for the other is no longer centered around an agreed upon world view or our theological views but rather our desire to understand and value the other, our desire to respect the other is grounded in one’s intrinsic worth as a Child of God.

Church, I want to challenge you to live out the respect Paul teaches about, sit down and talk with someone whose world views are different, find those places of agreement and go forth to do God’s work together in the world. For then the world we see the church as a body thats not easily swayed by politics but by God’s love.

In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirt. Amen.